Harris v. Howe

28 N.E. 711, 2 Ind. App. 419, 1891 Ind. App. LEXIS 190
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 2, 1891
DocketNo. 437
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 28 N.E. 711 (Harris v. Howe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. Howe, 28 N.E. 711, 2 Ind. App. 419, 1891 Ind. App. LEXIS 190 (Ind. Ct. App. 1891).

Opinion

Reinhard, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment rendered by the court below in favor of the appellee, who was plaintiff, in a proceeding supplementary to execution, under sections 815-822, R. S. 1881.

It is averred in the complaint that on the 28tb day of February, 1887, the plaintiff recovered a judgment in the Bartholomew Circuit Court against one Laura Foster, for $131.45, and costs, upon which execution duly issued against said Laura Foster, a resident of the county of Bartholomew, which has been returned wholly unsatisfied, and that no part of said judgment has since been paid ; that said Henry C. Harris, a resident of said county, has certain properties and moneys in his possession belonging to said Laura Foster, [420]*420and is indebted to her in the sum of $1,500, which, together with the amount already in the hands of said Laura Foster, subject to be claimed as exempt from execution, exceeds the amount s.o exempt by law, and that said Laura Foster has refused, and still refuses, to pay, or cause to be paid, any portion of said money in the hands of said Harris, to the payment of said judgment. Wherefore, etc.

The complaint, which was duly verified, was demurred to by each defendant separately, and the demurrer overruled. The cause was tried by the court, resulting in a finding and judgment for the plaintiff.

In a motion for a new trial the appellant assigned the following reasons:

“ 1. The decision is not sustained by sufficient evidence.
“ 2. The decision is contrary to law.
“ 3. The decision is contrary to the law and the evidence.”

The motion was overruled, and, over the objection and exception of the appellant, judgment was rendered on the finding, and the cause appealed to the Supreme Court, and from there it was transferred to this court, by special order. Harris v. Howe, 129 Ind. -.

The errors assigned are:

1. The overruling of the appellant’s demurrer to the complaint.

2. The overruling of the motion for a new trial.

3. The court erred in ordering appellant to pay appellee’s judgment against Laura Foster.”

The evidence tends to prove that Laura Foster is the daughter of the appellant, and was formerly the wife of one George Ely, from whom she was divorced. Ely was the owner of forty acres of land, worth $125 per acre, and household goods worth $200. Before they were divorced the parties conveyed the land to the appellant for a stipulated amount, of which Laura was to receive $1,500 from her father. She was living with her father when the deed was made. '

[421]*421Some time afterward she executed to the appellant the following instrument of transfer:

“ Whereas, in the purchase of George W. Ely’s land, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, by my father, Henry C. Harris, and in the deed for which I joined, fifteen hundred dollars ($1500) of the purchase-money was to be paid by my father to me, and which he now holds. Also in the property arrangement between said George W. Ely, my husband, made in view of our separation, I got a lot of household furniture, now in the possession of my father. And in consideration of love and affection for my father, and the further •consideration that he has, since the separation of myself and husband, and does and will support me so long as I live with him, and the further consideration of moneys paid by him for me, I do hereby give, transfer and deliver to my father as his own absolute property all of said money and property, and I do release and relinquish to him all right or claim to said money or property, and all rights of action for or on account thereof. Laura Ely.
“ Witness: William H. Harris.
“ February 29th, 1884.”

When this agreement was made, Laura was under the age of twenty-one years, and living with her father who, she testified, had paid some of her debts, including the expenses of two divorce suits, but how much these debts amounted to is not shown. She was married to Foster September 20th, 1885, after having obtained a divorce from Ely, and some time after the deed was made.

Howe, the appellee, testified, that in August or September, 1884, Harris told him he had got all the land, and that Laura should have her share, but that he wanted to see first how “ Bert ” (Laura’s husband, Foster), was going to do, before he gave her anything. He further testified that his claim was contracted during the year 1883 and part of 1884, which was known to appellant when the transfer of the land was made.

[422]*422It is not claimed that any other property or money belonging to Laura was in the hands of her father, or that he owed her any other amount.

It , is contended by appellant’s counsel that a proceeding supplementary to execution is not the proper case for determining the fraudulent character of a conveyance, the disputed right to property, or an indebtedness which is denied,, and that, therefore, inasmuch as the appellant denied that he was in any way indebted to Laura Foster, or had in his possession any money or other property belonging to her, the court had no power to- investigate the bona jides of the transaction.

Under the ruling as laid down in the case of Burt v. Hœttinger, 28 Ind. 214, third persons could not be made defendants in proceedings supplementary to execution for any purpose other than to answer as to any property held by them and belonging to the judgment defendant, or as to their indebtedness to him, when the title to such property or the fact of such indebtedness was undisputed ; but the coui't could not settle controverted questions of right between the debtor and third parties, nor set aside a sale or conveyance for fraud. Such questions as these, it was held, must be tried in another form of action.

But in Toledo, etc., R. W. Co. v. Howes, 68 Ind. 458, the court expx’essly overruled Burt v. Hœttinger, supra, upon this point, and decided that, as by the px’ovisions of the statute all interested parties may be brought before the court, when so brought in, the parties could join issues upon all controverted questions between them which could be tx’ied and determined, and that no good reason existed why “ such questions must be tried in another form of action.” To the same effect are: Johnson v. Jones, 79 Ind. 141; Fowler v. Griffin, 83 Ind. 297; McMahan v. Works, 72 Ind. 19.

In Pounds v. Chatham, 96 Ind. 342, it was held 'that, [423]*423where there is no averment of fraud in the affidavit in such a proceeding, that question could not be adjudicated.

In Burkett v. Holman, 104 Ind. 6, a case much relied upon by the appellant, it is held that section 822 of the statute, except so much thereof as relates to costs, is new legislation and constitutes a legislative overruling of Toledo, etc., R. W. Co. v. Howes, supra, and the cases which follow it.

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Bluebook (online)
28 N.E. 711, 2 Ind. App. 419, 1891 Ind. App. LEXIS 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-howe-indctapp-1891.